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GA
SAFETY TREND CONTINUESAOPA's annual Nall Report (PDF) says 2006 was the safest year ever for general
aviation operations. According to the report, there were 6.32 accidents
for every 100,000 hours flown in 2006 compared to 7.19 in 1997. The
report bases its analysis on trends, rather than year-to-year
statistics. There's been an increase in the number of weather-related
accidents, possibly due to the availability of advanced, high
performance aircraft. Other categories of accidents are generally
declining but one thing remains constant. "No matter what accident
statistics you look at, pilot decision making continues to be the
leading cause of all accidents," Bruce Landsberg, head of AOPA's Air
Safety Foundation said in a release. While pilots are flying safer, they're also
flying less often than five or 10 years ago. More...

LAWSUIT
SPARKED FLY-IN REVIEWEAA says a judgment against it stemming from an
accident at an unnamed regional fly-in resulted in the controversial
review of its association with such events. In a statement issued a week
after AVweb reported that the annual Texas Fly-In at Hondo
was being scrapped because of the proposed policies, EAA said the review
was necessary because the judgment threatened insurance coverage of its
core activities. "The damage award affected the evaluation of EAA's
coverage in the insurance market and created a situation that, if not
addressed, would lead to very significant and unsustainable increases in
the cost of EAA's insurance coverage at the levels required for all of
its programs," the statement said. More...

ECLIPSE
CELEBRATES FUNDING, AVIONICS CERTIFICATIONThere were a
couple of pieces of good news for Eclipse Aviation and its customers
this week as the business year wound down. The company received
certification for its Avio NG avionics suite and it also got a $30
million shot in the arm from customers who paid deposits
in advance in return for a lower overall price on their aircraft.
Certification of Avio NG was a major milestone and the system will be
immediately integrated into aircraft coming off the assembly line.
More...

ASPEN
AVIONICS EFD1000 CERTIFICATION DELAYEDAspen Avionics
announced last week that expected certification and deliveries of its
new EFD1000-series electronic flight displays have been delayed until
the end of March. Rollout was originally planned for this fall. In a
letter to customers dated December 19, the company said it has released
a preliminary installation manual to dealers that can help them pre-wire
a plane for the new equipment. Aspen says it plans to submit its final
FAA certification package in time to support shipment of EFD1000 Pilot
and Pro primary flight display (PFD) units by March 31.
More...

HAI
RECOGNIZES 2008 PILOT OF THE YEARFranz Ivanovich Levitskiy,
a helicopter pilot and instructor with UTair Aviation of Surgut, Russia,
is the Helicopter Association International (HAI)'s 2008 Pilot of the
Year. During his 40-year career, Levitskiy has logged 27,500
accident-free flight hours in various aircraft including the Mi-4, Mi-6,
Mi-8, Mi-8MTV and Mi-26T helicopters. More...

AIR
FORCE CUTTING PILOT TRAININGThe U.S. Air Force will train
about 925 new pilots in 2008, a decrease of about 12 percent from the
1,100 that will graduate this year, the Air Force Times is reporting. The Times says there
will be a slight bump in trainees in 2009 to about 1025 that is expected
to remain constant for several years. The newspaper says the reduction
is directly related to the decline in the number of aircraft and will be
particularly felt in the fighter pilot ranks. "If the Air Force did not
slow down pilot production, the service's fighter squadrons would be
overwhelmed by first-assignment pilots who could not get adequate
training because there wouldn't be enough jets or instructors," the
newspaper reported. More...

The Finer Points  Delivers Weekly
Training Tips

"Brilliant! I just discovered
the site about a week ago. As a student pilot, I'm finding the podcasts
a fountain of knowledge and somewhat of a mentor. Thank you so much for
your service. Without a doubt, you have made me a safer
pilot."

Training can be fun and informative ... and you don't need an
iPod.Hear what the buzz is about;
visit TheFinerPoints.net.

GLOBAL
AIRPORT FLIGHT DELAY INDEX LAUNCHES ON
FLIGHTSTATS.COMAirline travelers can now monitor flight
delays at airports throughout the world for free on FlightStats.com.
The Web site's new global delay index provides a graphical indication of
whether your flight to or from a given airport is likely to be late.
Users can get details on the status of particular flight and request
email or text message alerts. FlightStats assesses the airport's current
departure performance and the severity of delays and cancellations using
data collected from the previous hour and from flight schedule delays
for the upcoming two-hour period. Conditions are translated into an
index score between 0 and 5 where higher values indicate more severe
departure disruptions. More...

XM WX Satellite Weather Uses
a Continuous Satellite Broadcast to Deliver Graphical Weather Data to
the Cockpit
Pilots view and interact with the data  including radar, winds,
METARs, lightning, and more  on compatible MFDs, EFBs, and PDAs
from a wide range of industry partners, as well as on laptop PCs. The
situational awareness afforded by XM WX Satellite Weather allows pilots
to enjoy their journeys with more confidence and comfort than ever
before. For more information, please visit
XMWXweather.com.

TRACK
SANTA ONLINEBeginning at 0900Z on December 24 you can track
Santa live online at www.NoradSanta.org as he makes his annual
round-the-world flight. "Santa has had to adapt over the years to having
less and less time to deliver his toys," states the Web site, which is
run by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). With a
world population of more than 6.5 billion, Santa has but a fraction of a
second to deliver a gift to each person on Earth. "The fact that Santa
Claus is more than 15 centuries old and does not appear to age is our
biggest clue that he does not work within time, as we know it."
More...

DALLAS
HOLIDAY LIGHTS ATTRACT AERIAL SIGHTSEERSWhat started as a
way to earn extra money during college has grown into a booming holiday
business for David Snell, owner of Starlight Flight in Frisco, Texas.
This month Snell's company will fly about 90 people low and slow over
the glistening lights of Interlochen and Highland Park, two Dallas-area
neighborhoods known for their large and elaborate holiday light displays
(this is Texas, after all). A 30-minute flight for two people in a
Cessna 172 costs $160, and an hour-long flight costs $215about
half the price of similar helicopter flights. More...

AOPA Aircraft Financing Program
Whether you are looking to purchase an aircraft or make upgrades to your
existing aircraft, now is the perfect time. Check out the new lower
rates, quick decisions, and No Document Loan Program for qualified
members with AOPA's Aircraft Financing Program. Call
AOPA's Aircraft Financing Program to speak with a loan expert at
(800) 62-PLANE, or
apply online today.

Emerald Coast brought a little holiday cheer to
AVweb reader Travis Turner, who stopped at the FBO
"to pick up my mother for the holidays":

She
had not flown in a small plane before, and the owner Johnathan helped to
reassure my mom that flying was a safe and fun way to travel. Aside from
helping to calm her nerves, Emerald Coast has a clean facility, good
prices and a new surface on their runway. I certainly will visit
again!

StickyCharts  No Tape or Thumbtacks
Required
Your favorite FAA charts beautifully printed on removable adhesive
backing. Easily map your route with dry-erase markers. Up to 4 feet
tall, StickyCharts are delivered in a sturdy tube in time for the
holidays. They make a great gift for the "hard-to-shop-for"
pilot.
Go online to order at
StickyCharts.com.

VIDEO
OF THE WEEK: DRUMS AND AEROBATICSHere's a little air show
fun to spice up your holiday week, straight from the e-mail of
AVweb reader Robert Reid, who (accurately) describes the
clip as "short, crystal clear, [featuring] amazing photography, and
fun to watch." (Click through to view the video.)
More...

Find Your Next Aircraft on ASO!
When you search for aircraft on ASO, you get the most complete
picture of the market available anywhere. View thousands of listings
with detailed specs and photos or use ASO's advanced search tools
to quickly find your next aircraft. Best of all, know that every ad is
current and no time is wasted on stale listings. If you're ready for
your next aircraft, it's ready for you  on ASO.
Visit ASO today!

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